Herbert Reasserts State's Plan to Defend Amendment 3

Governor Herbert tackled several topics at his KUED monthly news conference Thursday including reasserting the state’s position on defending Utah’s Amendment 3.

Governor Gary Herbert says he’s not sure what the state will do about the latest ruling by Federal District Court Judge Dale Kimball ordering the recognition of the same-sex marriages that took place in December and January, but that they plan to continue defending Utah’s law that bans same-sex marriage. An appeal to a federal judge’s decision to strike down that law is currently being considered by the Tenth Circuit Court.

“I would think that’s what everybody would want," he says. "I’m dismayed by voices out there that want us to stop in the middle of the process because they think the polling numbers are different or that the mores have changed or some other reason. If that’s the case than the people through the legislative process can change the law.”

Herbert also criticized other states like Pennsylvania and Oregon for not defending their state’s laws banning same-sex marriage.

“For elected officials, governors or attorney generals, to say, pick and choose which laws we’ll enforce is a tragedy and is the next step to anarchy," he says. "You don’t want me to pick and choose which laws to enforce.”

Utah’s attorney general Sean Reyes says he expects a ruling from the Tenth Circuit Court at any time.